Our NFL Team Rankings are based entirely on the The Trench Counter, which is an objective formula measuring average yards per pass and run on both offense and defense, along with first downs registered and given up, turnovers for and against, and total penalty yards. 

Over time, The Trench Counter rankings begin to closely resemble the standings but goes even further to determine which teams are truly the best when on the line of scrimmage. 

The chief aim of the Trench Counter is to take the subjective out of the equation and even the somewhat fluky nature of teams actually scoring points, which is of course the whole point on a game-by-game basis.

The Seattle Seahawks entered the week with a +7.4 Trench Counter and stayed basically even with their +7.2 performance against Washington to leap ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals.

The San Francisco 49ers continue to climb up the rankings after their 1-2 start, going from 14th to eighth, while the San Diego Chargers are now fourth after entering Week 5 at No. 12 due to their +23.1 against the New York Jets.

Week 5 Rankings

1. Seattle Seahawks: 7.3
2. Baltimore Ravens: 7.1
3. Miami Dolphins: 7.0
4. San Diego Chargers: 6.6
5. Cincinnati Bengals: 6.2
6. New Orleans Saints: 4.3
7. Arizona Cardinals: 3.5
8. San Francisco 49ers: 3.5
9. Green Bay Packers: 3.3
10. Chicago Bears: 2.9
11. New York Giants: 2.3
12. Indianapolis Colts: 2.3
13. Dallas Cowboys: 2.1
14. Detroit Lions: 1.4
15. Denver Broncos: 1.0
16. Cleveland Browns: 0.3
17. Pittsburgh Steelers: -0.1
18. Buffalo Bills: -0.3
19. Kansas City Chiefs: -0.3
20. Minnesota Vikings: -1.1
21. Atlanta Falcons: -1.1
22. Houston Texans: -1.3
23. New England Patriots: -2.2
24. Washington Redskins: -2.4
25. Philadelphia Eagles: -2.5
26. Carolina Panthers: -2.7
27. Tennessee Titans: -3.3
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -7.1
29. New York Jets: -8.0
30. Oakland Raiders: -8.2
31. St. Louis Rams: -8.6
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -10.0